PORTSMOUTH, UK – Utility Portsmouth Water will be fully adopting new leakage detection software after it picked up a total of 322 anomalies and 43 bursts during a six-month competitive trial.
The six month phase saw the utility test several technologies, including Servelec Technologies’ leakage detection software FlowSure.
Called a “self-learning event detection system” by the supplier, the software works by detecting anomalies in data to predict and avoid leakage in a water network. A combination of visual dashboards, maps, pipe views and alarms are used to help utilities diagnose, mitigate and resolve problems.
UK water companies are under increasing pressure to minimise leakage; in particular, to prevent interruptions to the clean water supply taken for granted by households and businesses.
Jamie Jones, distribution project manager at Portsmouth Water, said: “During the trial, FlowSure detected 322 anomalies which included signal and data issues, engineering events, instances of low pressure and genuine bursts detected in a matter of hours of them occurring.”
Alan Cunningham, technical director (network management: leakage and demand) at Servelec Technologies, added: “Water companies are under increasing PR and legislative pressure to reduce the amount of water wasted through leakage, brought sharply into focus by prolonged periods of dry weather. Any water network will inevitably have leaks, but it is vital for a water company to know which need fixing as a priority before a major disruption occurs.”
The software supplier estimates that annually a six-figure net saving can be achieved by larger water utilities using the system.
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